It all seemed to be going uncharacteristically well for Tottenham Hotspur. They were on an excellent run of form and manager Ange Postecoglou seemed to have silenced some of his critics, not least with a resounding 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. And then came the most Spursy of all capitulations last time out, a 3-2 loss at Brighton as the team somehow contrived to blow a 2-0 lead. The international break has not been a restful one for anyone associated with the club as they look to get back on track.
West Ham are not the ideal visitors to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at this pivotal point. The Hammers are unbeaten in their last three Premier League away games in London while Spurs, for their part, have lost four of their last six London derbies in the league. A home win feels essential if the Australian in charge of the hosts is to avoid having each and every game turn into some kind of referendum on his future at the club.
The visitors have had a pretty miserable start to the season although the 4-1 demolition of Ipswich before the international break certainly lifted the mood.
Lucas Bergvall is the only reported Spurs injury from the international break and the huge news for the hosts concerns star men Son Heung-Min and Richarlison, both of whom Postecoglou believes could feature on the weekend. West Ham supporters could be forgiven for believing their team is cursed when it comes to injuries and will be hoping summer signing Niclas Fullkrug returns to action sooner rather than later.
The good news for the hosts is that, setting aside some high-profile disasters, they actually have an excellent record against West Ham. Indeed, they’ve won 26 Premier League games against the visitors and only have a better record against Everton and, surprisingly enough, Manchester City. The trouble is that incidents like that involving the lasagne on the last day of the 2005/06 season cast a long and terrible shadow for those long-suffering Tottenham fans.
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Tottenham vs West Ham odds
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — London
Time: 12:30 p.m. BST (7:30 a.m. ET), Saturday
Streaming: Fubo (US only, try for free)
Form guide (league only)
Tottenham: 3-1-3, 10 points (9th); L-W-W-L-L
West Ham: 2-2-3, 8 points (12th); W-D-L-D-L
Match prediction
Tottenham 3-1 West Ham
The international break came at a bad time for both teams. West Ham would have wanted to build on their most impressive victory of the season while Spurs needed to show the Brighton disaster was a mere aberration in an upwards trajectory. The hosts should have too much for Julen Lopetegui’s team in front of their own fans so let’s go with a 3-1 Spurs win.
More Premier League coverage
West Ham’s Niclas Fullkrug still out with a calf injury, Julen Lopetegui unsure on return date
Premier League predicted line-ups: Who do our writers think will start in Gameweek 8?
Niclas Fullkrug’s injury absence is only exacerbating his slow start at West Ham
Ange Postecoglou reflects on Tottenham’s Brighton loss as ‘good lesson’ in ‘sticking to principles’
(Photo of Micky van de Ven: Glyn Kirk / AFP via Getty Images)
